1001 Albums Summary

The first song was pretty good, which got my hopes up. The rest of it was /r/im14andthisisdeep dominionist bullshit sung slowly with a piano

No one man should have all that power

Some solid stuff here, but sometimes it drifts into a bad Bowie impression backed by saxophones

I expected to say "I respect this, but it's not for me" and call it a day, but it was way more listenable than I expected. Plus, who can resist a lyric like "Welcome to Tijuana / Tequila, sexo, y marijuana"? Best track: Welcome to Tijuana.

Double-tracked whisper singing is my kryptonite. Best track: Pictures of Me.

Dwight Yoakam was probably the first artist I ever hated. I listened to a lot of country radio when "Pocket of a Clown" came out, and I couldn't change the station fast enough whenever I heard his voice. This album did nothing to sway me. Best track: Send Me the Pillow.

I respect the skill that goes into making this kind of music, but the repetition kills me. 90% of the album was like a chisel being hammered into my skull. However, the one track I liked, I really liked. Best track: Don't Die Just Yet.

Johnny Cash is such a badass. I enjoyed learning about Glen Sherley, the inmate who wrote the final song on the album. Best track: Folsom Prison Blues.

90s synth + 60s pop = this album. Atmospheric feel that is mostly pleasant and sometimes jarring. Inoffensive and safe. Best track: People Get Real.

Cocaine rap isn't my favorite thing, but the lyricism is on point. Best track: The Champ.

This album makes me want to drop acid. Best track: Sunshine Of Your Love.

They changed the game. Best track: Walk This Way.

Huge respect for Hayes. However, one of the problems with releasing a four-track album is that when one of them starts with a 9 minute monologue, it sort of brings the whole thing down. Best track: Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic.

Dream pop sung by an unintelligible Scottish woman never sounded so good. Best track: Iceblink Luck

Before they found their sound on "Urban Hymns," The Verve was an Oasis clone (maybe after, too, but just not as much). Mostly boring. Best track: This Is Music

This avant garde ambient album is innovative and influential, and should be celebrated for that. It's also mostly unlistenable. It belongs on the Stranger Things soundtrack, but I don't want to hear it otherwise. I did learn the word "krautrock" today, so that's something. Best track: Sequent C

I love everything about the story of this record, from Moby thinking it was going to be his last work before he had to get a real job to the fact that it took months to catch on. It's just bangers front to back. Best track: Porcelain.

Depending on who you read, this is either the best concept album of all time, or else the gimmick is a distraction from a weak collection of songs. I tend toward the latter, but it's not as if there isn't anything redeemable here. I find the concept distracting and not particularly well done. Best track: I Can See For Miles

The soundscapes and lyrics are densely packed into the very brief songs, which are an expert mix of folk rock and psychedelia. This album caught me completely by surprise. Best track: The Wolf of Velvet Fortune

The Wikipedia page for this album compares it to both "Smile" and "Abbey Road." It's not nearly that interesting. My opinion of it improved after a second listen, but not appreciably so. Best track: Sacrificial Bonfire

Buzzcocks summed up the mission statement of punk right in the exact middle of this album: "I hate modern music/Disco, boogie, pop/They go on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on/How I wish they would stop." This shit rocks. Best track: Sixteen

The word I keep coming up with is "almost." This album wants so desperately to be an epic, atmospheric magnum opus, but it's...not quite that. Hell of a try, though. Best track: Satellites

You never know if you truly like something until you try it, and now I can say with confidence that French industrial rock songs about period blood are not for me. Best track: Les enfants

It's okay. Best track: Used to Be a Sweet Boy

It's so much more than its title track. Demerit for explicit references to Yoko. Best track: Gimme Some Truth

Intelligible metal is good metal. I feel like this album could have benefited from a producer saying, "Hey, this would be much more listenable if you dialed it back by 5 or 10 percent." Then again, what kind of metal band listens to that kind of advice? Best track: Don't Burn the Witch

Paul Westerberg's voice is so cool. Best track: Unsatisfied

Banger after banger. I had to deduct from the final score because of the copious fart drops in Wars of Armageddon. Best track: Super Stupid

Fantastic songwriting top to bottom. One reason I'm glad for this project is that I never would have listened to anything of his beyond the title song. Best track: American Pie

I don't love live albums. Cheering, little stories told to keep the crowd interested while instrumental changes are made, background noises - these are things I don't care to listen to when I put on some music at home or in the car. This album is one of the worst offenders from that standpoint. People whistle and cheer throughout. At one point early on, B.B. laughs at a comment somebody makes, so the crowd spends the next 2-3 songs making pithy comments after every sung line, trying to get some acknowledgement. Makes me want to tear my hair out. At the same time, I get why, if he's only going to get one entry on this list (?!), it would be a live album. The guy played 250+ shows a year for decades. The musicianship is off the charts (of course), and it feels like an honor to spend a little over half an hour with the King. I just wish it were under better circumstances. Best track: Please Love Me (because it has the least crowd noise)

Another punk/pop punk/post-punk band that I've only ever heard of and never really given a chance. Le Tigre come out of the blocks swinging and don't let up until they've left a trail of destruction in their wake. They've got a Rudy Giuliani protest song that's relevant 21 years later. Best track: Deceptacon

Starts with the fucking Devo guy singing "yeah, yuh-yuh-yeah yeah yeah!" over and over, moves on to the least essential Rolling Stones cover in history, and somehow goes downhill from there. All of the thumbs down. Best track: Space Junk

I put every single track on my 1001 Albums playlist. For me, this album is the gold standard of dream pop. I could listen to it all day. Best track: Zebra

The problem with experiments is sometimes they fail. I was vibing with this music, berating myself for judging another album by its genre, when all of a sudden I was assaulted with a 17 and half minute song that sounded like a monkey humping a didgeridoo, following by 11 and a half minutes of eastern strings accompanied by tiny men who crawl up your nose and dance upside down on the bottom of your brain. How many krautrock albums are on this stinking list? Best track: Halleluhwah

Ziggy Stardust before he became Ziggy Stardust. Inventive, creative, and a joy to listen to. Best track: Life On Mars?

Chuck D delivers as always. Flava Flav is at the top of his game. Every track is a heater. It's rowdy, rude, and in your face. It's also one of the most culturally influential albums of all time. This one is an all-timer. Best track: Fight the Power

There are moments when this thrash metal band uses its incredible technical ability to allow the speed with which they play to generate some forward momentum, but mostly they're happy to mindlessly assault the senses. What disappoints me most is they show flashes of something approaching interesting, but won't commit to it. Best track: Desperate Cry

Sorry to be Americentric, but the US version, which includes Paint it Black and ditches some of the less creative tracks of this album, is way better and more mature sounding than the UK version. As it is, it feels like they're on the verge of breaking out, but not quite there. Best track: Doncha Bother Me

I'm not really sure why this album is on the list. It's jazz/easy listening that isn't particularly innovative or influential. Even the review in the book damns it with faint praise. It's not bad, I guess? Best track: You're The Best Thing

Notable because they played their own instruments for the first time like the big boys that they are. It also sold well. It's insane that this album, which sounds like it came out in 1962, was the #2 best-selling album during the Summer of Love. Best track: Shades of Gray

This album is massive in both literal size and in scope. I feel like I could write three reviews: one about the sound, one about the Lynyrd Skynyrd metanarrative, and one about the attempt to rehabilitate the Southern image in the popular imagination. I'll focus on the last, because it's the most interesting. It's a noble attempt, and they mostly succeed, but they try a little to hard to have it both ways (i.e. "the duality of the Southern Thing"), and while the effort is respectable, I don't love that there are no less than three songs that lionize or at least soften George Fucking Wallace. Sure, they're being ironic when they celebrate that "George Wallace stared them Yankees down," but it's a hell of a singable line that's no doubt sung by a certain subset of their fandom with gusto, a fact they well recognize themselves later on: "few saw beyond the rebel flag/And this applies not only to their critics and detractors/but also their fans and followers." Patterson Hood wants so badly to redefine what it means to be a Southern man, but he can't help but throw a bone to the peanut gallery he himself happily dismisses. I found myself respecting this album more and more as I listened to it, but ultimately it's got some fundamental flaws that it can't fully overcome. One note about the sound: It's damn good. Best track: Dead, Drunk and Naked

Gets sappy at times (Teach Your Children) and the addition of Neil Young isn't always strictly a positive (Helpless), but they're legends for a reason, and they pulled out some great ones for this collaboration. Of course, their best offering comes courtesy of Joni Mitchell. Best track: Woodstock

Innovative? Yes. Influential? Eh, maybe. Throw it on the heap of albums that are notable, but not necessarily a great listen. Also, it reminds me of that terrible Matt Damon movie about tiny people. Bet track: Seen and Not Seen

I still feel like I'm getting away with something whenever I listen to this album. Best track: Know Your Enemy

This album is credited with introducing Chicago-style blues to a white audience and influencing the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Angus Young, and more. Its footprint is so massive that it can't be overstated, and it's easy to see why. Waters starts with some blues standards and slowly turns up the heat until the crowd is going nuts. He plays his penultimate song twice, reportedly exhausting himself to the point that Otis Spann had to sing the final number. It's an expert balance of frenetic energy and casual blues musicianship. Just incredible. Best track: I've Got My Mojo Working - Pt. 2

There's a certain morbid curiosity here that reminds me of reading David Foster Wallace's thoughts on suicide. Maybe if Amy would have said yes to rehab, she'd still be around, but would we even know who she was? Best track: Rehab

The greatest songwriter of all time remade his image with this album, going electric for the first time in album format. It feels like you could write a thesis on each song, and probably somebody has, but they're also just a joy to kick back and absorb. This one will be high on my "Best of" list for sure. Best track: Like a Rolling Stone

The Offspring are a bit of a mystery to me. They're clearly capable of elevating and in some ways redefining punk, but often content to settle down and succumb to the laziest tropes of the genre. Fortunately, most of their best work is captured in one album. If you were to make a true best of compilation, you might grab one or two from elsewhere, but the collection would start and end with Smash. It's filled with allusions and wordplay that reward repeated listens, and you'll want to listen again, because it fucking rocks. I don't know if it's a shame that they couldn't replicate that success or a blessing that they did it once. Best track: Come Out and Play

Conjure every cliche you can think of when I say the words "Mid-80s adult contemporary music." This is that and more. I had to take three breaks while listening to this 45 minute album. Best track: Heaven

Catchy as hell. Some of the lyrics are pretty clever, from what I could tell by reading them on Google Translate, but it doesn't really come across in the music, so I'm hesitant to give a higher score. A worthy entry that I probably won't think about again. Best track: Ponta de Lança Africano (Umbabarauma)

I had a ton of trepidation going into this 3 hour listen. There's some filler, and not every song is a winner, but the bottom line is that this ambitious project worked. Stephin Merrit subverts expectations, both lyrically and musically, at every turn. It feels like the musical version of the play in Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche, New York, a sprawling epic that grows and grows until it eats itself. I mean that in the best way. It's easy to get lost in the massive sea of songs, and I think that's the intent. Best track: The Book of Love

Standard 60s blue-eyed soul pop with an occasional dash of Gershwin-esque jazz and an extra helping of inane lyrics. Boring. Best track: Luckie

Some of the best covers ever made, but don't overlook the originals. What a legend. Best track: Hurt

Repetition CAN be artistic. In this case, it's not. The only good thing about this album is that the Butthole Surfers guy showed up and sort of half rescued one of the songs. Best track: Jesus Built My Hotrod

Socially conscious ska funk-rock is better on paper than in practice, at least in this case. Best track: Change

The classics are classics for a reason. Best track: Green River

The prog rock era of the Holy Triumvirate is my favorite. I don't love the hard rock years, and I don't have a lot of use for the Ayn Rand tribute era that preceded this one. The balance of this album is perfect. A couple of rock solid hits, one of the best instrumentals of all time, and a double song track for the math rock nerds, all in 40 minutes. Incredible. Best track: Limelight

Jazz without a horn = music to fall asleep to. I respect the skill, but it's not for me. Best track: Jade Visions

The double-tracked singing still really bugs me. There are a couple of songs where it isn't as anemic, but mostly it makes me involuntarily clench my teeth. He's clearly a very talented musician and songwriter, but I wish some producer would have pulled him aside at some point and insisted he partner up with a good singer. There are a few songs that could have been enjoyable. What a shame. Best track: Son of Sam

There are a couple of songs that don't sound like Depeche Mode songs. Those are the best ones. Best track: Pimpf

Eight different versions of this album have been released. Eight! The book tells me that the 1992 edition is the definitive track listing, and I couldn't find that one in Spotify, so I had to create a list with all of the tracks in the correct order in order to listen. I'm not sure it was worth the trouble. The lyrics read like they were scrawled on a wrinkled piece of paper during lunch right before they were due in 7th period, and the instrumentation doesn't really elevate them enough for me. Chilton's voice is poppy and pleasant, and I suspect this is why this album has developed a following. Best track: O, Dana.

I don't buy Bruce as a significant figure in American mythology. It's all so manufactured and engineered to appear authentic. He thinks he's Dylan, but he's not, and I suppose I should applaud the effort, but it's just so damn hard to look past the affected growl and the unbearable saxophones - not to mention the faux-intellectual lyrics. I didn't hate this as much as I thought I would, but I didn't like it, either. He was dad rock when we were kids, so I'm pretty sure that makes him grandpa rock now. Best track: Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out

It must have been wild to discover this album in 1978 - a bunch of German weirdos singing in robot voices about space lasers. Still listenable today. Best track: The Model

We want the funk. Give up the funk. Best track: Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker)

A little too experimental. This is my least favorite of Joni Mitchell's albums, but it's not as if there isn't good material. Best track: Sweet Bird

This album was recorded over the course of two nights in a studio made up like a jazz club, complete with an invitation-only crowd. Tom Waits works the room, introducing almost every number with a story, then easing into the song, sometimes singing, sometimes merely pontificating while the crowd encourages him. It's a format that might not work for any other artist, but it's perfect for Waits' neo-noir hangdog vagabond persona. There are parts of Tom Waits' discography that I don't completely get, but not this. This works. Best track: Eggs and Sausage (In a Cadillac with Susan Michelson)

I'm trying to get over my annoyance that this wasn't, in fact, an unplugged performance, and look at the music objectively, but it's hard. At the end of the day, they're still mumbly Nirvana songs, or covers done in the mumbly Nirvana way. This album was treated with kid gloves when it came out because Kurt Cobain had just died, and I don't understand why people still think it's great now. Best track: Dumb

There's some seriously saccharine stuff here, but when he's on, he's on. Best track: Fire and Rain

Many people have this as the best Stones album, but to me, it feels incomplete somehow. I think that in 1971, they were trying to answer the question, "Are the Stones more than the sum of their parts?" I'm not sure we need the answer to this question today as much as we did 50 years ago. This may be their most well-rounded album, but I'm not sure it's their best. Best track: Moonlight Mile

I don't dislike Van Morrison, but he's always seemed to me to be the product of the English press trying way too hard to make him into an Irish Bob Dylan. The lyrics here are mostly non-sensical, and there's way too much flute, but it's a solid album. I get why it's on this list, but I don't get why it's treated as if it's part of the Pantheon of Great Music. Best track: Cyprus Avenue

This list of collaborators on this album is wild: multiple members of each of Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, and Santana, plus the entire CSNY crew, and of course Joni Mitchell. Three of the nine songs are instrumentals, one of them (Cowboy Movie) reads like it was written by a mental patient, and the rest offer little in the way of lyrical complexity. It sounds incredible, though, and not only is the sound enough to overcome all of that, it feels like a feature rather than a bug. One of my favorite albums so far. Best track: What Are Their Names

expected a solo album from a self-proclaimed "non-musician" producer to perhaps include interesting collaborations and subdued vocals. Mostly, though, it's nonsense sung loudly and poorly over repetitive and uncreative instrumentation. There were three tracks that I (mostly) liked, and two of them had weird tags. On Some Faraway Beach ends abruptly with what sounds like somebody taking a piano lesson, and Some Of Them Are Old fades away into 30 full seconds of wind chimes. Less than the sum of its parts. Best track: Here Come The Warm Jets

Mostly ambient pop, some of which is pleasing and some of which is very much not. Very hit and miss. Best track: The Big Ship

The most impressive thing about this album is the consistency. Every track is carefully and creatively crafted, and there's not a single one that stands out in a bad way. Having said that, nothing really sets it apart as an all-time great, either. It's a really, really solid album. Best track: You've Got A Friend

The tribute to Gram Parsons is worth the price of admission, but otherwise it's kind of a standard country album. Best track: Boulder to Birmingham

Man, this is some seriously angsty shit. I hope this guy finds what he's looking for. In the meantime, I'm going to recommend that he stay away from drugs. Best track: Uncertain Smile

I'd never heard of this band. It was interesting to learn about their brief rise and very long, unfortunate fall. There's a cult following around this band that perpetuates a mythology about how they were screwed badly by their manager, and should be as big as The Beatles, and so on and so forth. There's no doubt they were screwed, but it also feels like maybe there were some self-inflicted wounds along the way. In any case, they put together a great debut album with a killer sound. The fact that all five members contribute to vocals allows them to do some interesting things, especially with the harmonies. There's some nice guitar work in here as well. Best track: Sitting By The Window

Automatic 4 because of Superstition. The rest is hit or miss. Best track: Superstition

Some really good songs, some not so much. Very uneven. So, a typical Tom Waits album. The title song didn't even feature any trombones. Wtf. Best track: Down, Down, Down

It would be hard to review this album without comparing Shack to Oasis, so I won't try. It's a band fronted by troubled brothers who sing soaring melodies about scoring heroin accompanied by strings. They're the Liverpudlian Oasis. In fact, the two bands had a sort of co-dependent relationship, even if one made it big while the other one opened for them years later. This certainly sounds like an Oasis album, but better; a glance at the lyrics reveals a song-writing talent that the Gallaghers could only dream of. Shack is one of those "what could have been" bands that nevertheless managed to pull it together long enough to make one memorable album, and this is solid stuff. Best track: Beautiful

David Bowie specifically names this album as an influence on his German era, which is very evident, especially once you know that fact. This is by far the most listenable of any album I've had so far with the label of krautrock. I'm still not sure I want to voluntarily spend time with it. It was fine. Best track: After Eight

This is, no hyperbole, the greatest album of all time. It's the last one the Beatles made all together, and they almost tore each other apart doing so. There are tracks where Lennon doesn't appear, tracks where McCartney doesn't feature as prominently as he would have previously, and tracks where you can almost feel the frustration. In spite of it all, what they put together was incredible and, as always, greater than the sum of its parts. Here Comes the Sun is George Harrison's best work. I Want You (She's So Heavy) is a typical complex contribution from John. Paul took "some crap John wrote in India" and weaved it together with some of his own material to make the masterpiece that is the Abbey Road medley. Ringo...well, Octopus's Garden is pretty good, as far as Ringo's stuff goes. He did finally get a solo, which is nice. The album is so packed that I haven't even mentioned several other greats: Come Together, Something, and Because are all-timers. Best track: the medley

This might be blasphemous, but fuck it - there are shades of David Bowie in here. The hits are here, but the deeper cuts are infinitely listenable. Just an enjoyable album front to back. Best track: Kids

Seventeen seconds is the amount of time I listened before checking out. It's a 35 minute album that feels much, much longer. Aggressively boring. Best track: M

So. Much. Woodblock. Pretty good for a Christmas album, if a bit uneven. Almost dropped it to a 2 because of the final track. Best track: Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

Hendrix's creative genius is on full display here. Occasionally drifts into "pushing boundaries that don't need to be pushed" territory. Best track: Little Wing

A perfect album for a lazy Sunday afternoon. Really solid blues rock. Best track: Wild West End

A stone cold classic. I almost gave a demerit for the horrific live song, but the rest of the album is perfect. Best track: The Only Living Boy in New York

The tracks featuring Shara Nelson on vocals were pretty good. The rest...not so much. I might like this if I were into dance music. Best track: Unfinished Sympathy.

This album is supposed to be angry, but it didn't make me feel anything. Mostly unremarkable. Best track: Brendan 1

The importance of this album can't be overstated. Owens and Don Rich (along with Merle, but never mind that) pioneered the honky-tonk sound that influenced generations of country musicians, and nearly every song on this album has been covered many times over. One of the major issues with this album is that in almost every case, the covers are better than the originals. It speaks well of the songwriting that so many people wanted to sing these songs, but I can't help but think that an album with the best version of each song would be exponentially better. The other issue is that the audio production is downright awful. Much of the singing is distorted and occasionally gets drowned in the mix. The panning is all over the place, to the point of being distracting. I know they were still getting used to mixing boards in the 50s, but I don't think we should be grading this on a curve. Best track: Streets of Laredo

There were parts I really dug (mostly the trumpet) and parts I really didn't (mostly the alto sax). Some good grooves here. Best track: Maseru

This band flopped commercially and decided to make one album for themselves before breaking up, and this was the result. It grabbed my attention and didn't let go. There's a bit too much of the musical saw, and the singing is a bit weak, but they don't lack for heart, and it shines through. Not what I expected when I spun it up. Best track: Holes

I've never really listened to Steely Dan outside of their hits, and it looks like I need to take another look. There's not a weak spot on this album. Best track: Do It Again

This was the first "Parental Advisory - Explicit Lyrics" album I was able to get away with owning. I haven't listened to this one (or anything by Green Day, really) in years, and I was afraid it wouldn't hold up. I needn't have worried. Best track: Basket Case

I'm not into the type of electronica that takes a measure or two and repeats it 256 times in a row. That's not what this whole album was, but it was enough of it to really beat me down. There's some decent stuff buried here. I'm not sure it's worth the effort to dig out. Best track: Aladdin's Story

All I knew about this band before today was that David Bowie liked them enough to write them a song so they wouldn't break up, and it became their most successful single. So, I was unprepared for how well-rounded this album was. It's actually really good; however, I listened to the version of the song with Bowie singing, and I wish he would have just kept it for himself. Best track: All the Young Dudes

Echo and the Bunnymen have achieved a rare feat here, combining thoughtful lyrics with interesting melodies, backed by a 35-piece orchestra. Unfortunately, I had a hard time feeling much of anything while listening to the album, mostly because the lead singer is horribly bland and generic. Best track: Seven Seas

She's clearly a very talented singer with incredible artistic range. This didn't grab me, and that's as much about the music as it is the fact that it's a foreign language album. Best track: Tiro Ao Álvaro

There were moments in the beginning, mostly when the glockenspiel and sitar featured prominently, when I couldn't decide whether I loved or hated this album. Ultimately, it won me over. The harmonies are tight and the guitar parts are impressive. It's a solid English folk album. Best track: Hunting Song

Common and Ye in their primes. It doesn't get much better than this.

Super inconsistent from one song to the next. Some really nice guitar work, but not usually enough to elevate a boring tune. This guy sounds like he doesn't move his jaw when he sings. Best track: Over the Hill

🤘 🤘 🤘 🤘 🤘. Best track: Breaking the Law

Most of it was generic punk. A few standout tracks, but not enough to make me want to listen again. Best track: It's Who You Know

Transcendent. This album was originally scheduled to release on 9/11, yet it somehow captures the post-9/11 ethos perfectly. It's also fresh today. Complex in all the right ways, without sacrificing listenability or accessibility. It's cliche for hipsters to fawn over this album, but in this case, they're right. Best track: I Am Trying to Break Your Heart

Some really interesting arrangements here. Many of the lyrics were thoughtful and meaningful, but there are some serious duds in here as well. Overall, I really liked it, but (I'm sorry for this) I didn't Love it. Best track: You Set the Scene

I love Q-Tip in ATCQ, and some of his features are among my favorites. It's hard to stick with his lazy delivery for an entire album, though. Could have used more appearances by the Norah Joneses of the world. Best track: Won't Trade

If I had the power to delete one song from the world's consciousness and ensure it had never been made, Pour Some Sugar On Me would be on the shortlist. So, I entered this one with some trepidation. There are certainly some songs where you have to turn your brain off in order to enjoy it; "Don't Shoot Shot Gun" is an easy target, but see also Armageddon It. The lyrics are so inane they almost ruin an incredible sounding song. That's the thing, though - outside of the sugar song, it sounds amazing. A great album for background listening. I'm glad that this project forced me to take another look at this one. Best track: Gods of War

I knew a bit about the making of this album, but not the whole story, which was really interesting. Unfortunately, reading the story was a better experience than listening to the album. It's very 80s, with fadeouts on nearly every song. And the percussion - for a genre that's supposed to be built on the bass line and not the drum set, why is it so damn forward in the mix? For a collaboration it featured a bit too much Paul Simon, which feels weird to say, but nevertheless I think it's true. Points for creativity and for introducing the world to a different kind of music. Best track: You Can Call Me Al

Women are objects and Jews are not people in the world of The Stranglers. I still have some reflection to do about why I'm okay with excusing this type of bigotry in other artists, but for now, I'll say that this shit put me in a bad mood today. Being a dick doesn't make you punk. Best track: Goodbye Toulouse

I wasn't sure what I thought about this one, but I read that they focused on incorporating some jazz into their sound, so I listened again, and it was clear as day. Kind of weird how articulating a genre or influence of a genre can lock everything into place. Not as single-friendly as Can't Buy A Thrill, but still just as enjoyable. Best track: King of the World

TIL about Madchester, a genre that blends British alt-rock and dance music. It's about as gross as it sounds. I was pretty disappointed in this album until the last song, which I absolutely loved. Best track: Harmony

The man won a Nobel Prize for Literature, and this album is the reason. It's an accomplishment of a lifetime, even before the lyrics are set to music. I don't think I have the words for this one. It's great. It's great. Best track: Visions of Johanna

Billy Joel's biggest hits are elsewhere, but his best songs are here. This is him at his purest, I guess. Best track: Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)

I was blown away by the scope of this album. It's probably best known for its two epics, but that summary ignores the depth and breadth of the rest of its offerings. What other rock project contains a hate song for a former manager, a Bowie-esque space folk song, and a combination Dixieland/ukulele number? All of the experiments work. I have a tendency to reduce Bohemian Rhapsody to a product of Wayne's World fame, and I'm definitely guilty of taking it for granted due to its overexposure. A fresh listen reaffirms its status as a masterpiece, and the thing of it is, it's not out of place on the album. The whole thing is a work of art. Best track: Bohemian Rhapsody

I don't get it. I read a lot of reviews, trying to understand it, and the consensus seems to be that this is their best album. For me, it's a million miles away from their self-titled album, and they moved in the wrong direction. Best track: So Far Away

This is the kind of album where if you like it, you say that the artist displayed her range, whereas if you don't, you say that it's inconsistent. I fall into the latter camp. Some of the songs were pretty good, though I hesitate to call any of them great, and many of them fell flat. I don't really like her affected growl, and there's something about some of the backing instrumentation that didn't age well, but I can't put my finger on what it is. Best track: This is Love

I listened to this album for 39 minutes and now I'm clinically insane. I worry for the people who seek this out voluntarily. Best track: Magical Dream

I really like Karen O, but I kinda feel like she's a bit wasted in the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. This album has some bright spots, but overall, it's just okay. Best track: Maps

The first album made entirely of samples. I like it when an artist uses samples effectively and then elevates the material. There's no elevation here. Everything is mixed nicely enough, but after listening to this for over an hour, I'm not sure why I'm supposed to give it any more attention. Best track: Midnight In A Perfect World

I heard this album in my RA's room not long after it came out, and at the time I didn't really know much about The Roots. It blew my mind then, and it blew my mind again today. Black Thought is the best lyricist in the game imo. Best track: Thought @ Work

A double live album that's pulled from several different shows and later overdubbed is bound to be rather unenjoyable, and that's before considering that it's mediocre 70s rock. I have no idea how this made anybody's list of essential albums. Completely disposable. Best track: Massacre

A really fun post-punk album. I find it a bit strange that this album is on the list, but not the superior AM. Best track: When The Sun Goes Down

It's impossible to listen to this album and not feel like the coolest person around. Best track: Riders on the Storm

Fun record that sounds like it was mostly written by somebody in high school (because it was). Skip to any given section of any given song, and it sounds really similar to the last thing you were listening to, just with more or less xylophone. Best track: Blister in the Sun

I really wanted to give the GOAT a 5, but the skits on this album are out of control, in a bad way. This is definitely one where you put several tracks in a playlist and never touch the rest of it again. Best track: The What

This is the brand of shoegaze that I don't super love. It's pleasant enough, but the fuzzy lyrics and lack of focus on melody really bring it down for me. I'm not sure I completely understand the universal acclaim this band/record gets. Best track: Soon

Maybe my favorite hip hop album of all time. So innovative and ahead of its time. Bangers on bangers. Best track: B.O.B

An album full of covers, most of which don't improve on the original and/or were covered better by others. Best track: Don't You Know

When Willie covers a song, he makes it his. Best track: Moonlight in Vermont

One of the things I've really enjoyed about this project is finding lesser known songs from artists I already know. When it comes to The Who, though, most of their deeper album cuts do nothing for me. There are some okay ones here, but the hit-to-miss ratio is way too low. Best track: My Generation

Compelling from start to finish. A couple of annoyances that I could nitpick, but it's a great album. Best track: Seven Nation Army

Weird and borderline unlistenable, but at least some of the lyrics are thoughtful. Best track: Houdini

One day at David Bowie's house, Iggy Pop took a bunch of drugs and hallucinated that his girlfriend was being eaten by a TV, so naturally, Bowie turned it into a song. He was so coked out while making this album that he says he only has one memory of asking for a certain guitar riff, and nothing else. I think the lesson here is, if you're going to do drugs, you should either be as talented as David Bowie or have a friend with that level of talent that can turn your experience into a trippy song. Best track: TVC 15

There has never been a more apt album title. The music is indeed stripped down to its bones. Tom sings his existential angst over percussion that sounds like it's just Tom Waits banging on shit with whatever he can find (because it is). It's all so very Tom Waits, and so very 90s (check out that album cover, complete with font that looks like a cross between the espn2 logo and anything produced by Tim Burton), and it works. Best track: That Feel

I could take or leave the vocals, but I'd listen to an album of just the band grooving. Some fun, if somewhat forgettable songs here. Best track: The Ballad of Lucy Jordan

Funky. A couple of forgettable tracks, but really pleasant overall. Best track: Sparkle City

An interminably long album featuring lots of growling, vocal-fry singing, whispering, gibberish, and bagpipes. It's not just that the music sucks. The lyrics are inane, and I feel like I'm being generous with that description. A low point is "All in the Family," where Jonathan Davis and Fred Durst trade stupid insults that are variations on "You're a fag lol" for five very long minutes. I had successfully scrubbed this song from my brain, but here it is again, tormenting me. I don't hate this album as much as I fear having to hear it again. That may not be true; I do hate it as well. Best track: Freak on a Leash

Really impressive opening set of tracks. Unfortunately, the rest of it can't quite keep up. Best track: Little Red Corvette

I struggle with the albums where there's clearly a ton of skill involved, and I'm legitimately very impressed, but none of the music is something I would ever choose to listen to, especially a second time. I guess I'll just plop down a 3 and move on. Best track: Mood for a Day

I don't think I've listened to this since high school, and I was afraid it wouldn't hold up, but it absolutely did. I put the entire album on my 1001 Albums playlist. Best song: Sugar

There are a few swings and misses here, but also a whole lot to like. Every collaboration works. It's criminal how underrated she is. Best track: Gossip Folks

Started off with a well-known classical piece played nicely on a pipe organ, and I thought to myself, "Maybe this one doesn't have any of the masturbatory prog rock bullshit, and that's why it's on the list." How foolish and naïve. There's a ton of musicianship here, and it's all very impressive, but I'm baffled by the person who plunks down $72 or whatever to go watch a guy play the Moog for what seems like hours. Best track: Promenade (the first one)

This album sounds like Dylan's "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech, and in fact, he almost died after releasing it. Thankfully, he's still around, but that does nothing to diminish the album's dark look at mortality. It's brutally honest, like any Dylan record, but this one feels moreso. Best track: Not Dark Yet

I thought I would hate this. It's not terrible. Best track: Cars

Listened to it twice and never understood a single word (to be fair, some of it was in German). Some really sick grooves, though. Best track: S.O.36

It's a demo reel for a guy who wanted to make movie soundtracks. My best theory for why this is on the list is that it's the closest they could get to breaking their own rule about not including soundtracks. Best track: The Swinging Detective

It's pretty good Britpop, so of course if you read any English reviewer, they're the second coming. Their most prominent single, Common People, is pretty badass, but the rest of it is mostly just horny generic pop. Best track: Common People

Of course it's ridiculous to compare this band to the best in history, but that doesn't mean they're bad. This is a perfectly competent debut album. Best track: Yellow

A double album that could (should?) have been a single album. I really enjoyed the songs with the backing choir. Best track: There She Goes, My Beautiful World

Not my favorite of theirs, but it still rocks. Best track: Highway to Hell

Exactly what it says on the tin. I'm a sucker for orchestral arrangements. Best track: Everybody Knows (Except You)

I respect The Velvet Underground and like a lot of their stuff, but there are parts of this one where they lose me. Mostly it's the parts with the electric viola (wtf), and unfortunately, that overshadows what would otherwise be some really solid stuff. The album that has Sweet Jane on it should have been on this list instead. Best track: All Tomorrow's Parties

There's no denying the massive size and scope of this album. A definite high point for the band. Best track: Even Flow

It's a Flava Flav heavy album, which makes it lesser Public Enemy for me. Best track: By the Time I Get to Arizona

Corny as hell. Best track: Miss Me Blind

Scottish New Wave Funk from the 80s is an unholy combination on paper, so I was surprised to find several tracks on this album that were not just listenable, but enjoyable. I never would have picked this album up in a million years. Best track: Louise Louise

The album is obviously full of hits - even the deeper cuts feel like they would be a lead single for a different band - but what sets it apart is that you feel like you're on the front row for a beautifully intimate slow-motion car crash. Nearly every member of the band was involved in some kind of break-up while recording (some of the separations were with each other), and they each handled it in Their Own Way, making for a diverse and yet unified look at heartbreak. Best track: Go Your Own Way

Sounds like an album that was written in some dude's bedroom while he was on psychedelics. There are plenty of "Mr. Kite's Glass Walrus" moments (and a John Lennon diss track, apparently), but it also manages the trick of staying down to earth without being particularly dense or impenetrable. Rundgren didn't release any singles because he wanted people to listen to the whole album straight through, which is typically an eyeroll worthy statement, but in this case, I think it's a cohesive enough unit that a straight listen is probably the best route to take. This thing got better as it went. A great listening experience. Best track: Just One Victory

This was Sonic Youth's jump to a major label, and the contemporary reviews I read praised the album for its authenticity, which I take to mean that they didn't sell out by getting rid of the bullshit. I can confirm that there is still plenty of bullshit to wade through. Best track: Kool Thing

This album is like the grandfather of punk rock. It certainly sounds punk: adolescent humor, repeated shouts of "Let's go!", and tracks that were clearly recorded in one take. Some of it is really fun, but there's a lot of dumb here, and that's hard to overlook. Best track: Two Tub Man

Two massive hits and a whole lot of what feels like incomplete demos. A pretty good debut. Best track: American Girl

I didn't really get it, and after awhile, I decided I didn't care enough to keep trying to get it. It's a guy pouring his heart out into some pedestrian, mediocre songs. At least the effort's there. Best track: This Year's Love

I'm not sure this album needed 16 songs, even at only 40 minutes. Still a hell of a ride, though. Best track: We're Going to Be Friends

The album where they added synthesizers. The rest, as they say, is history. Best track: Panama

In a Rolling Stone interview, one of the members of Basement Jaxx bemoaned the state of dance music, using words like "robotic," "shiny," and "superficial" (among others). I would use all of those words to describe this horribly generic dance album, so I would say that they failed in their quest to transform the genre. They also failed to make house music interesting. Hard pass. Best track: U Can't Stop Me

Beck traded in his two turntables and a microphone for an acoustic guitar and an atmospheric sound, and it works. Melancholy was in in 2002, and this is among the best that era has to offer. Best track: Round the Bend

A great deal of this record is a guy singing in falsetto while two female voices do a weird "vocal hocketing" thing that I learned about today. Dirty Projectors is one of those art pop bands that think switching obscure time signatures in the middle of a song makes them worthy. Technical acumen is nice, but they occassionally forget to make the music listenable at the same time. Best track: Two Doves

It's Daft Punk, but compressed and distorted to hell. Grading on a curve and giving a 3 because it's a dance album that only made me want to play in traffic like four times. Best track: D.A.N.C.E.

The book says that this album is "[f]aux French electronica at its best," which leads me to several questions. Why does faux French electronica exist, and why are we keeping tabs on it? Is this really the exemplar of the genre, and if so, what does bad faux French electronica sound like? Who is the target audience for this? If life is truly meaningless, and the human condition is to ascribe meaning to it, why is the conclusion "Eat, drink, and be merry" also something that an animal can do with no self-reflection? Are animals simply beings who have achieved enlightenment? If nihilism is constructed on paradoxes, is it any less true? What compels an artist to take a decent-sounding track and add a bunch of nonsensical sound effects on top of it? Best track: Damaged People

Rejected alternate titles: (1) "Morrissey's Pseudo-Intellectual Musings About the State of the World, Delivered with the Subtlety and Nuance of a Monkey Operating a Chainsaw," (2) "In Which Morrissey Paradoxically Accuses Other People of Being Boring," (3) "Morrisey Finds a Way to Whine About His Press Clippings on What Feels Like Every Song," (4) "We give up, Morrissey - just put something that sounds like you're simultaneously threatening and seducing the consumer, and we'll Photoshop a Tommy Gun into your hand later. Signed, The Producers." Best track: First of the Gang to Die

Successfully walks the fine line of acknowledging the influences of the Beach Boys while claiming his own style. Expertly crafted, and a joy to listen to. Best track: River Song

I didn't envision giving full marks to a foreign language album, but my appreciation for this grew as I listened. He has the voice of an angel and switches genres competently and with ease. The lyrics I looked up were meaningful. One of the songs was banned in Brazil for being too revolutionary; when you listen to it, it sounds like a happy-go-lucky flower power tune. The contrast is super interesting to me. Best track: Paisagem da Janela

It's a music theory exercise solved in an uninteresting way. You can see flashes of cleverness in the way he covers songs, but once you get past the novelty, who cares? Best track: Only A Hobo

Elvis doesn't play a character on this album, which means it's probably his best one. Best track: Fever

One of the most praised albums of all time. The Beach Boys have never been and never will be my favorite, but this is a great album, end of story. Best track: God Only Knows

Several of the songs fell flat for me. Best track: Fast Car

An ambitious project with some killer collaborations. Best track: Heart of Gold

Can you dig it? Best track: Theme from Shaft

Really fun, really smart. Best track: Take Me Out

An underground classic that got lost in the mainstream due to its proximity to other major releases, notably Illmatic. A lot of it didn't age particularly well, but there's some cleverness in the beats (Come Clean) and the lyrics (You Can't Stop the Prophet, among others) that still stands up. Best track: You Can't Stop the Prophet

An East London rapper named Dizzee Rascal sounds exactly how you might imagine. Once you get past the novelty of the accent (TIL that a Cockney accent with Jamaican and West African influences is called Jafaican) and the slang (not the "road toad frog" kind, the "call your friends 'blood'" kind), it's actually really fun and really clever. Gangsta rap is an American export, no doubt, but Rascal has fully absorbed it and turned it into an expression of life in East London. Super fascinating stuff. Best track: Hold Ya Mouf

I loved this band back in the day, and for some reason fell out with them until I went back a few years ago. I know a lot of people don't like Corgan, and there's good reason for that, but this album rocks. Best track: Today

Nah. Best track: The Chauffeur

Tusk is Fleetwood Mac's White Album (a disparate collection of individually created songs) and their Smiley Smile (in which they overthink the runaway success of their band-defining album and go too far in the opposite direction). Joyless and disappointing at times. Best track: Storms

Does anybody know if Jurassic 5 is trying to bring old school rap back? They never mention it. This is a fun album with good production. The best track features Big Daddy Kane, and it kinda made me wish I was listening to one of his albums instead. Best track: A Day at the Races

One of those pop/post-pop albums that's pleasant enough to listen to, but ten minutes later, you can't really recall anything about it or what it sounds like. A bit generic for this list. Best track: Why Does It Always Rain On Me?

Prince's well-known singles are good and all, but this is the stuff. A massive album in every way. Best track: It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night

The best parts of this album are the instrumental breaks. Best track: I'm Movin' On

This is one of those shoegaze bands that occasionally forgets to put a melody or intelligible lyric into their music. They come up as a suggested band based on other bands and genres that I'm into, but they've never been more than just okay in my eyes. Best track: He Would Have Laughed

They get labeled as grunge because they're a Seattle band using heavy distortion in 1991, but there are more punk elements here than anything: an abundance of two-minute songs, shouty repetitive choruses, a lead singer who can't carry a tune, and purposefully mediocre production quality (because using low quality tape totally owned those studios, man). I vacillated between being impressed by the balls on these guys and annoyed by this album's existence, which was probably the point. Best track: Good Enough

I'm a sucker for media about space and how it makes us think about our place in the universe, so this album works for me, despite the layers and layers of pompousness and corniness (and spoken word bullshit). If Space Oddity and Rocket Man are about astronomy, then Space Ritual is about astrology or maybe astral projection. I have a lot of room in my heart for psychedelic space rock, so while I acknowledge this isn't for everybody, I dug it. Best track: Brainstorm

The drum solo is nice, I guess. I get why people are into it. The rest is entirely forgettable. Best track: In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

They'd already announced themselves to the world before this album came out, but it's their first (and only) album to be comprised entirely of Lennon-McCarthy compositions. John contributed more songs, but for my money, Paul's are better. And I Love Her is the standout on the record, and Things We Said Today is maybe their most underrated early offering. Best track: And I Love Her

Weird swamp rock. It was fun, but I was glad the album wasn't any longer than 33 minutes. Best track: I Walk on Guilded Splinters

I kind of hate this album, but I try not to give a 1 unless there are no redeeming qualities that I can see, and I have to admit that the last track was kind of cool, so I'm giving it a really soft 2. Really, though, this sucks. Best track: Woodpecker from Mars

This guy used his craft to stick it to the man and paid the ultimate price for it, then got back up and did it again. An incredible story. The songs are bangers, too. Best track: Zombie

Boring, repetitive, and super long. Possesses about as much cultural importance as a cologne ad, which makes the album cover convenient. Best track: Radio Interlude

This album would have benefited from having a different lead vocalist, but it's not bad. Maybe more misses than hits, but the hits are solid. Best track: Heart Factory

One of the greats. Best track: Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen

So much soul. Best track: Groovin'

Sonic Youth read some William Gibson novels, dropped some acid, and made a noisy, distortion-heavy, socially conscious album. It sounds exactly like you might expect. An album you have to listen to more than once, or you'll miss a ton. Best track: Candle

Boring adult contemporary music. Better than I thought it was going to be, but I'm writing this 10 minutes after I finished listening, and I remember almost nothing about it. Best track: Why Can't We Live Together

Classic cerebral rap. Best track: Scenario

Psychedelic folk rock that mostly works. Best track: Draft Morning.

The album is too long, and a lot of the material either didn't age well ("I sure wouldn't rape you" as a pickup line? Yikes) or is super corny (Milky Cereal, among others). There is no denying the power of the title track, though. Best track: Mama Said Knock You Out

The album where Madonna remade herself and brought EDM to the mainstream. Solid stuff. Best track: The Power of Good-Bye

For an embarrassingly long time, I thought I didn't like R.E.M. because Losing My Religion sucks. I was right about that song, but I've seen the error of my ways when it comes to the band. This album was a huge part of that. There's something to like about nearly every track. It's just a bunch of thoughtful, well executed jams. Best track: Man on the Moon

I read several positive reviews for this album because I was trying to understand it. Nearly all of them mentioned its influence and apologized for the sub-par musicianship. I'm sure they inspired a lot of people, but if the music isn't good, I'm not sure I need to hear it before I die. I can't imagine getting hit by a bus and my last thought being, "But I never got to that album from The Slits!" Best track: Adventures Close To Home

I can't tell if she's not moving her jaw or her lips or her tongue or what, but Badu has a lazy way of singing that is a huge turn-off. I realized partway through that I'd much rather be listening to the instrumentals, which is usually a bad sign. Best track: Bag Lady

After we'd lived in our current house for about 6 or 7 years, I found a taqueria 4 miles away that blew my mind. The burritos, the sauce - incredible. My first time eating it, it was so good that I wanted to punch everybody that lived around me in the face for not telling me about this hidden gem. I wasted the better part of a decade not knowing that the best green sauce I've ever had was right around the corner. There's really no excuse for not finding it myself, but why didn't you tell me about it, you jerks? That taqueria is this album. Best track: Sir Duke

Bragg and Wilco put some old Woody Guthrie lyrics to music, and it mostly works. They stayed true to his aesthetic while making it their own, which is how you have to approach a project like this, I think. The issue I keep coming back to is that for all three major players, this isn't their best work. It's really good, but it doesn't particularly stand out. Best track: Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key

The worst of the Beach Boys, if we're being honest. Best track: She Knows Me Too Well

This album featured 58 collaborators and took 18 months to put together. The final track is 17 minutes long. There's a gospel choir, a string ensemble, and Dr. John. It's a monument to excess, but at the same time, it's about simple truths. I can see how it might be portentous to some, but I think it works. It's smart and emotional at the same time, and it sounds incredible. Best track: Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space

Some incredible jams. Just Frank Zappa doing Frank Zappa things. Best track: Willie the Pimp

The second of the Berlin trilogy, and like Low before it, it has a vocal side and a mostly instrumental side. The instrumentals are Eno collaborations, but they're Bowie through and through. The Kraftwerk influence is overstated, in my opinion. I believe it's more accurate to say that Bowie accomplished what they couldn't, or maybe more politely: they walked so he could run. Best track: Heroes

The centerpiece of this album is a 20-minute prog rock anthem/suite about an armadillo fighting a manticore. Civilization might have been a mistake. Best track: The Only Way (Hymn)

After years of trying to understand Daft Punk, I decided today that I just don't get it. The "repeat the same measure 64 times while a single note drones in the background, then repeat with a slight variation" genre needs to die. Best track: Funk Ad

He's like an Elliott Smith who can sing, which is nice, but there's not a lot here that grabs the attention in a positive way. Just okay. Best track: The Shining

A tale of two sides. They stuck the experiments that didn't work on Side 1 and the ones that did on Side 2. It's almost as if you can hear them maturing as the album goes on. I doubt that was the intent, but it's my headcanon. Best track: Feel Flows

I'm inclined to give Dylan a 5 just based on the fact that his name is on the album, and I acknowledge this bias. The thing is, nothing he does here disabuses me of the notion that he's a genius. Every track oozes with meaningful allusion and evocative imagery. I keep looking for a reasons to give a demerit, and I'm coming up empty. Best track: Mr. Tambourine Man

This album didn't grab me like their other ones. Best track: Pretzel Logic

I took your advice, George Michael, and you know what? This shit slaps. Best track: Freedom! '90

I soured on RHCP awhile back for no real reason, and upon revisiting this album, I feel like I was both right and wrong. The hits are still solid, but most of the deeper cuts leave a lot to be desired. It's really hard to listen to Anthony Kiedis slur his words for an hour. Best track: Easily

A massive album. Best debut of all time? Best track: Dazed and Confused

The ballads get a lot of attention, and for good reason, but for me the angry braggadocio is where Tupac shines. Best track: Death Around The Corner

A bit uneven. Some Killer and some filler. A thirteen track album shouldn't have three sub-2 minute tracks. Best track: Killer Queen

Everything about Elvis Costello, from the name to the glasses to the sneer in his voice to the nonsensical pop culture references, is aped from another artist in a cynical attempt to separate Boomers from their nostalgia dollars. He's Springsteen for people who bristle at the thought of even pretending that they're working class. That may not be fair to him, but he was just unfair to my ears for an hour, so we can call it even. This album feels like it was specifically engineered to be bland and unremarkable, and contemporary reviews were middling. Why is it on the list? Best track: Kinder Murder

Classic storytelling songs done right. Listening to some of these songs brought me back to the crappy barbecue restaurant we used to go to that had this album on the jukebox. Best track: El Paso

There is zero chance that I'll remember anything about this album once I've listened to everything on this list. It's a guy mumbling over some generic early 90s post-punk. A waste of time. Best track: Glam-Racket

One problem that a lot of atmospheric albums have is a lack of discernible melody, which is not a problem here. They've successfully created soaring music that still qualifies as music, which is nice. I feel like I need more than one day to properly digest all of it, which is usually a very good sign. Here's a fun game to play if you only speak English, like I do: Try to figure out (without cheating) which songs are sung in Icelandic and which are sung in their made-up gibberish language. Best track: Olsen Olsen

In which one half of the duo that gave us The Boxer and The Only Living Boy in New York released a lead single about allergies, and it wasn't even the worst song on the album. Did you know that cars are cars all over the world? An awful album only partially redeemed by an introspective reflection on the assassination of John Lennon. Best track: The Late Great Johnny Ace

It might not be fair to Beth to say that she sounds exactly like Natalie Merchant, but...she does. There are plenty of great tracks on this record, and the standout is a song where she grieves her dead mother. Powerful stuff. Best track: Pass In Time

I don't really know what to do with this album. I'm going to try to split the difference, which is probably the wrong thing to do. Musically, this owns. However, there's a Nazi problem. The opening track is named after and makes explicit references to Josef Mengele, who experimented on prisoners at Auschwitz. If you read or listen to the lyrics, they stop short of glorifying him; in fact, it's kind of just their usual shtick with the inspiration coming from a different source. In an interview, Jeff Hanneman basically said, "We didn't say he was bad because it's self-evident." It's clear they're following the same playbook that was so successful for them when it came to Satanic Panic: Create the controversy, fan the flames of it by issuing some non-denial denials, and earn street cred with the rebellious teenagers that make up the core of their fanbase. Are they literal Nazis? Maybe not. Probably not. But they sure didn't have any problems using Nazi imagery on multiple occasions to move records and merchandise, so they can fuck right off. Best track: Raining Blood

I know she's supposed to be the proto-Beyonce or whatever, but...meh. Best track: Miss You Much

Like a cabaret, it's flashy, flamboyant, and devoid of substance. There's a song called Sex Dwarf, and it's exactly what it says on the tin. I had to know that, and now you have to know it, too. Best track: Say Hello, Wave Goodbye

It's electronica with a melody, which is a minor miracle. I almost gave it a higher score because it exceeded my expectations by not completely sucking. You can tell it's from the 70s because of the lasers and other space noises. Best track: Oxygène IV

Funky soul. Best track: If You Think You're Lonely Now

Gets a bit weird at times, but enjoyable. Hit to miss ratio is not the best. Best track: Make It Right

The guy's clearly got some things to say, and I support him, but he chose to express himself using 80s post-punk, so my support only goes so far

Listening to this album feels like participating in music history. Great covers. Great originals that would go on to be covered (Respect). Funky, soulful, uplifting. What else can be said? Best track: Down in the Valley

Following the commercial success of his most accessible album (Harvest), Neil Young stated that he felt like he was in the "middle of the road" and wanted to head toward "the ditch." This album is his first step in that direction, and it's a good one. There are some really clever musical moves (listen to Revolution Blues and On the Beach back to back for an example) and some very dark, instrospective lyrics. This album doesn't contain any of my favorite NY tracks, but it might be my favorite of his anyway. Best track: Walk On

The definitive Hammond organ album. Great jams. Best track: Green Onions

About halfway through the album, somebody starts shouting during the outro to a song. It got my attention, because it was the first time anybody in the band showed any emotion. I'm probably being too cynical, but it sure feels like Crowded House worked their way joylessly through a checklist. Scathing indictment of American culture? Check. Multiple instrumental solos that are just long enough to display some talent? Check. Children's choir singing backing vocals? You betcha. The one thing they forgot to pack? A bit of passion. It shouldn't feel like a chore to listen to a 48-minute pop rock album, but here we are. Best track: Fall at Your Feet

I'm not the biggest Nirvana guy, but after listening to this album in the context of this project, I understand a bit better why people are really into them. I still wouldn't voluntarily listen to most of these tracks, but there's no denying the massive footprint of this work. Best track: Breed

I love Chicago when they're at their best. They're not always at their best here, but the foundation is there. I wish somebody would have been around to tell them to cut the bullshit (looking at you, Free Form Guitar). Best track: Listen

I don't find her shake-voice compelling or pleasant to listen to. She should have been a poet. Best track: This Woman's Work

U2 gets a lot of deserved shit for their high-profile misses, but I'm kind of done apologizing for loving them. This album is a banger and it's like their third or fourth best one. Best track: Beautiful Day

A haunting vision of mortality. This is one of those albums that gets better and better with repeated listens. Best track: I Can't Give Everything Away

There were parts of this that I really, really hated, but some of it was actually solid. A very up-and-down album. Somebody should have gotten ahold of this guy and told him to cool it with the spoken word. Best track: Something Wicked This Way Comes

I suppose you could generously call this satire, but it's really more "Rage against the normies," with penguin of d00m levels or randomness to prove how aloof and freaky they are. The more they criticize the folks who care about appearances, the more they reveal that they do, too. Best track: Hungry Freaks, Daddy

I can't claim to be a connoisseur of Billie Holiday music, but this album sounded different than what I was expecting. Turns out it's because they recorded this after her voice broke down. It's rougher and more seasoned than how she sounds on her more famous works. I wish the producer would have thrown some more varied songs at her. It sounds like 12 variations on a theme, which is probably what they were going for, but not necessarily the most interesting choice they could have made. Best track: But Beautiful

I learned a lot of things about this album today: that it was recorded in the Sharon Tate house, that it's more than Hurt and the "fuck you like an animal" song, and that you can hear shades of Reznor's future film soundtrack work in it. A lot more complex than I gave it credit for. Best track: Hurt

There's too much flute on this album. I don't mean this in a stuffy "any flute is too much" kind of way, I just mean there's too. much. flute. Best track: Aqualung

Big Boi and Andre 3000 are so uniquely talented that it was inevitable that they'd eventually go their own ways. It's lucky for us that they decided to collaborate on each other's solo albums and put them out together. The two sides stand completely on their own, but somehow still form a cohesive unit. Best track: Hey Ya!

There are times in this album when Cube goes off, and there are times when he settles into his slower delivery with lazy rhymes. He should have kept this thing to 45 minutes and cut out the corny fairy tale allusions. Best track: AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted

Sweet jams. Best track: Let's Start

Oh, oh, and you're Mary Tyler Moore! Best track: That'll Be The Day

For synth-pop, it's surprisingly not terrible, even if I wouldn't ever choose to listen to it. Can we talk about the title track? Why are they torturing the pronunciation of "this" to rhyme with "disagree" and "seas," when they can just change the word to "these"? There's no antecedent anyway, so it's not like there's a grammar issue here. Just change the word, weirdos! Best track: Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This [sic])

Strange electro-pop that occasionally drifts into interesting, more often swings the other way to annoying. On the opening track you can hear one of the singers smacking their lips. It's disgusting, and it's also somehow their most listened-to track. This doesn't belong on this list. Best track: Now's the Only Time I Know

Can you imagine being as bad at your job as the person who mixed this album? Best track: Rub 'Til It Bleeds

It's on the list for its importance in defining punk and for defying censors, but when you listen to it, it's kind of just a pretty good live album. I put the title track on my playlist, but beyond that, I doubt I'll think of this album again. Best track: Kick Out The Jams

He didn't do himself any favors by placing the title track, which is generic blue-eyed soul, as the opener. I was ready to hate this album after the first couple of songs, but the sound matured as the album went on. A strange experience. Best track: Wading Through (The Waters of My Time)

Wikipedia says the album "approaches free jazz from the perspective of hardcore punk, particularly taking note of the contemporary innovations of thrashcore and grindcore." FOH with that horseshit. There's a ton of technical skill on display, but it's masturbatory and painful. Those words shouldn't go together. Best track: Good Old Days

Lyrically, there's enough angst and intra-band romance/breakup going on that led to this album being known as the "Indie Rumours," but sonically, they back away when they start approaching something interesting. Wasted potential, imo. Best track: Dive For Your Memory

It can be easy to forget that there was a time before Kanye was (publicly) the guy that President Obama called an asshole. Sure, there are shades of what was to come, and he spends a lot of time bragging about his flow while getting best by the features on the same track, but what was so refreshing about this album is that rap had been pretty well settled into the gangster braggadocio groove for quite some time, and then here's this guy rapping about not wanting to work at The Gap anymore and copping to a bit of Impostor Syndrome. All of that, and it sounded incredible, because of course it did. Best track: Spaceship

The best Iggy Pop album. Punky, groovy, everything you could want. Best track: The Passenger

You remember that episode of Friends where Ross made a song by playing all the weird noises on his Casio? This is that, but the noises are a yipping dog and a coffee grinder. Also, it was kind of comical when Ross did it. Best track: Wilmot

A very 90s alt-rock breakup album. Best track: Brother Woodrow

Psychedelic rock opera that sounds like it was recorded at Abbey Road Studios during the Summer of Love (because it was). Some of the distortion-based experiments didn't work, but this is a great album that was a joy for me to discover. Best track: Bracelets of Fingers

This guy is very talented and appears to be very sad. Best track: River Man

It's socially conscious rap, which I'm usually into. The guy has a nice voice, and at its best, it reminds me of Public Enemy, but this album needed a good producer in the worst way. The beats are uninteresting, some of the flows are wack, and he needs to do something besides repeating the name of the track for every single hook. Some of them are catchy, many are not. For example: "Medical racist social statistics / Has everyday life become a health risk?" doesn't even mean anything, and he says this same phrase like 20 times in an otherwise pretty good track. I think my major problem with it is that he can be clever, but he thinks everything he says is clever, and there's a difference. Best track: Satanic Reverses

This album reportedly influenced R.E.M., and you can definitely hear that. I'm just not so sure it stands up on its own. Best track: I Wanna Destroy You

This guy is such an asshole. Best track: Alison

I'm not sure this needed to be on the list. Best track: Supersonic

So, it's got that one song on it. You may not know the song, until you hear it, and then you're like, yeah, that one. So anyway, it's at the very end, and while the songs you have to wade through to get there aren't all bad, they're not that great either. Best track: Don't You Want Me

I've never really spent time with Lorde outside of her hits. This was a pretty great pop album. Apparently Jack Antonoff is the go-to producer for female pop stars now. Best track: Liability

A perfect album. Best track: Back In Black

This album is so mid to late 90s, it evokes images of puka shell necklaces and frosted tips. Pretty good anyway. Best track: Novocaine for the Soul

I've been trying to come up with a word to describe a person who uses a 27 (ish) piece orchestra to back their music but also pronounces the ells in guillotine. It's somewhere between pseudointellectual and kitsch but without the knowing wink. Anyway, this was at times painful to listen to (especially the last song, which sounds like a bad Phantom of the Opera audition), but also showed bits of promise, so I'm giving a middle-of-the-road score. Best track: Songs of Love

I thought of this band as a one-hit wonder before today, but that was unfair. This album is full genre-bending goodness. Best track: Cult of Personality

I have a hard time picking a favorite Pink Floyd album. In my mind, they can almost do no wrong. If you put a gun to my head, I'll probably say this one. Or maybe it's The Wall. Or maybe Animals (I'm aware this is an unpopular opinion). No, it's probably this one. Best track: Wish You Were Here

I was really into this type of music back in the day, but listening to it now, it's clear that I just didn't know any better. This was okay. Best track: Regular John

This is all a bit twee for me, though I understand the appeal. Best track: The Stars of Track & Field

Fun, if a bit forgettable. Best track: Sun Hits the Sky

Hugely influential. Some of the rhymes didn't age super well, but the influence on subsequent hip hop duos is clear. Best track: Just to Get a Rep

Spence spent time in a mental facility after trying to use a fireaxe on his bandmates, and this album came out of it. It's a bit long and self-indulgent, but I guess he's allowed that if it's what he needs. Best track: Diana

I really enjoy tracks with dark lyrics that sound happy, and there are two great ones on this album. Unfortunately, when you have a 9 track album, you can't afford to put 3 or 4 stinkers on there. Too up and down. Best track: One of Us

I love everything about this album, even the stuff that I would hate if it was found elsewhere. You know why there's never been a good cover of Money? Because using cash register sounds in a song is stupid as hell, and only Pink Floyd can pull it off. Best track: Time

I found Ocean Rain to be much more interesting. Best track: Happy Death Men

I'm not going to act like I didn't enjoy some of this, because I did, but it sounds like somebody quickly explained what a concept album was to a 15-year-old, who then came back an hour and a half later with 65 minutes of content. Best track: Waiting List

It's probably too long, but it's got everything you could want from a Stones album. Maybe my favorite of theirs. Best track: Tumbling Dice

Really solid Southern roots rock/country featuring Emmylou Harris and Steve Earle. What else could you want? I enjoyed reading about how Lucinda persevered and made it in the music business despite all of the forces working against her. Best track: Drunken Angel

The one song you know from this group only shows up in the Deluxe Edition of the album, which is not something I usually pay attention to. Turns out the a capella tracks from that song are just better anyway. Best track: Back to Life

An indie darling that I've never been able to really get into, even with a renewed listen. Points for pushing boundaries, but there's not a lot here to really grab onto. Best track: Ready, Able

If you've heard one of their songs, you've heard them all. Pretty decent song, though. Best track: Ace of Spades

Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to. Best track: Creep

Compelling from start to finish. I listened to this three times today and I might go back for more tomorrow. Best track: Somebody to Love

It's blue-eyed soul, which is not going to get a rise out of me. Inoffensive - except that the album says Memphis, and she recorded her vocals in New York. smh. Best track: Son of a Preacher Man

I might have been more impressed with this if I hadn't already had the Green Onions album. Best track: Back at the Chicken Shack

I was really looking forward to this album, and it turned out to be a weak fart. The yodeling attempt did not work. Best track: Family Affair

If it's possible for 90s alt rock to be bland, this is. I listened to it three times to be sure and it still failed to make an impression on me. Not great, not terrible. Best track: Cut Your Hair

I just about developed a fear of music after sitting through this bullshit. Best track: Heaven

I love Missy E, but this one is a miss. Too many Timbaland ad libs and iffy features. Best track: Hit 'Em wit da Hee

It's kind of a shame that this album developed a reputation as the great early rock opera, since The Pretty Things did it first (and better) with S.F. Sorrow. It's not great, not terrible - just like everything else The Who has ever done. Best track: Pinball Wizard

I don't know how you can listen to this and not have a smile on your face. Just a joy. Best track: Father and Son

Her voice is pleasant. I'm not sure I would ever choose to put this on, but good for them. Best track: Wrong

Anemic and generic. Best track: Idiot Brother

Better than I expected, but also there weren't any hidden gems that made my playlist. Best track: Lovefool

What Daft Punk could be if they didn't suck. Best track: Talisman

What a fucking achievement this album was. Best track: Bye Bye Love

My first Springsteen album was not a fun listen, so I braced myself for this, and it wasn't bad, although the second half tested my patience. "I'm Goin' Down" may be about sexual frustration, but it works better as an ode to oral sex, imo. Best track: No Surrender

Soundgarden > Nirvana. Don't @ me. Best track: Black Hole Sun

This is the first album with an "acid house" label that I've actually enjoyed. Best track: Run

I was out 34 seconds into this album. What the fuck was that

I'm really conflicted by this album. How can you not love an Scotch-Irish folk rock band singing Yeats? Well, what if they bastardize Woody Guthrie? And what if their Hank Williams tribute sucks? I guess you give them a 3 and move on. Best track: The Stolen Child

I can't hear Witchy Woman without thinking of Seinfeld. Anyway, this was good. Best track: Take It Easy

A bleak indie folk album isn't going to win any points for originality, but at least the execution was nice (most of the time). Best track: I See A Darkness

I really like the xx, and I'm learning as I go through this project that I like this genre more than most. This album is too minimalist. It's such a product of its place and time, where indie bands were basically persecuted if they dared to show too much emotion through their music, so they put it all in the words and left the music as an afterthought. That's too harsh an assessment for this particular album, but it's clear they suffered from these influences. Best track: Crystalised

I was expecting either stuffy chamber pop or elevator music. It's a small victory that this was neither. Some weird avant-garde stuff, but nothing too out of the norm. The best track features a reinterpretation of La Bamba, which was fun. Best track: Giles Farnaby's Dream

The fact that Elvis got famous for doing bad Ray Charles and Little Richard covers (among others) is a bit embarrassing. Get your shit together, America. Best track: Blue Suede Shoes

Can't stand the Honey Pie songs, Bungalow Bill, and especially Revolution #9, but there's a ton to like here. The most uneven album of their later years, but still has so many essential songs. Best track: Dear Prudence

Solid folk with great vocals. Best track: Down Where the Drunkards Roll

I get why it's on the list, but it didn't really grab me. Best track: Alegria, Alegria

She literally arfs like a dog during Hounds of Love and it's like the fifth worst thing that happens on this album. Best track: I honestly don't know, and I'm not going to listen again to figure it out

A significant portion of this is just 80s easy listening with a nicer than normal voice on top. Best track: Watch Your Step

"It's better to burn out than to fade way" is one of the opening lines of this album, and also its thesis. Side A is Young mourning everything - the death of Elvis, his separation from CSN, his feeling that punk rock was overtaking rock n roll - and it's all set to that familiar acoustic and harmonica set. For Side B, he invites Crazy Horse to join him, and it's almost as if he's trying to burn away the rust. There's a symmetry to this thing, almost a chiastic structure. The first and last tracks are the most obvious pieces of evidence for this, but there are other parallels (Pocahontas and Welfare Mothers, for example). The tight structure and evocative imagery is impressive enough, but hey, it also sounds great. What an album. Best track: My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)

It's Icelandic B-52s with Björk at the helm. Not what I would call a good time. Best track: Birthday

Damn good British folk rock. Best track: Crazy Man Michael

The pinnacle of laid-back rap. Best track: Can I Kick It?

I was surprised to learn that Eddie Hazel had nothing to do with this record. The P-Funk roster is DEEP. Obviously this is funky, but there's a prog rock thing happening here that's super interesting. A couple of the tracks (especially the bits with the repetitive call and response) fell flat for me. Best track: One Nation Under A Groove

This album has a whole lot of genre-bending, which is even more impressive when you consider that it only has 6 tracks. Each song stakes out a slightly different corner in the jazz-blues-prog rock-English folk tapestry that is Traffic. Good stuff. Best track: Every Mother's Son

Everything I've read indicates that this guy is really clever, but that it only comes across if you understand all of the nuances of French. I hope that's the case, because I don't know why you would listen otherwise. Extra star for benefit of the doubt. Best track: Amsterdam

This doesn't spark joy. Best track: Decades

The issue with the two-sided album concept is that invariably one side will be better than the other, which leads to the question, "Why couldn't the entire album be just this side?" In this case, the black side blows the white side out of the water, but maybe they wouldn't have felt free to make it without setting up the contrast. Best track: Ogre Battle

This album sounds like what an AI would output if you fed it a bunch of 90s alt-rock and told it to provide a representative sample. It's not bad, but I don't understand why it's on the list. Best track: Hoover Dam

I want to be respectful of other cultures, but this ain't it. There are three tracks on this album that are worth mentioning. The others are repetitive, borderline nonsensical calls-and-response over congas. Lots and lots of congas. Congas for days. You better really like congas if you're going to pick this one up. Best track: Choferito-Plena

Super cool, super smooth. A few tracks I couldn't connect with. Best track: Jeru

Just a folksy dude singing folk standards. He started out as a busker, and once you learn that, you can't unhear it. Woody Guthrie makes an appearance, leading me to wonder, "Couldn't I just be listening to Woody Guthrie instead?" Best track: New York Town

I'm blown away by the songwriting on this album. The music is understated, yet pleasant, and while it can be kind of same-y, the imagery and turn of phrase overcomes any and all of that. Cohen is one of those artists that I never really got around to, and now I'm wishing I had spent more time with him sooner. Best track: So Long, Marianne

What a massive album in terms of what it did not only for The Byrds, but Bob Dylan himself and folk rock in general. Of course, if you made a list of the top 5 songs on this album, the four Dylan tracks would all appear. I think we give Gene Clark a bit too much credit as a songwriter. Jingle jangle. Best track: Mr. Tambourine Man

Like Bowie's Blackstar earlier in the year, Cohen's swansong was released just days before his death. He stares into the void and growls his goodbyes over sparse instrumentation; when it comes to the forefront, it warbles, just like the man singing from a therapy chair in his living room. Cohen said what he had to say and bowed out, and his unflinching contemplation of mortality is left for us to consider. Best track: You Want it Darker

Starts off somewhat promising (emphasis on somewhat) before progressively devolving until they disappear up their own assholes with the insipid "Come On Eileen," which is a top 5 candidate for "Song I Wish I Could Erase From the World's Consciousness." Best track: Old

A massive album with some massive songs. Maybe it shouldn't have been a double, though? Best track: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

There's a special place in heaven for animal lovers. Best track: Animal Nitrate

Chill Bossa Nova music with no ambition. Track 11 includes a kid who can't sing, which pretty much guarantees a bad grade from me. Best track: Misty Roses

The harmonies are on point, and the hits are hits for a reason. The deeper cuts on this album sound great, but they're kinda basic, which is the only reason this isn't a 5. Best track: California Dreamin'

Maybe the most celebrated jazz album of all time. Are we not supposed to talk about the missed notes? Feels like I'm going to get in trouble for bringing it up. Best track: Freddie Freeloader

This album has a track called Dueling Banjos followed by a bongo-trumpet-sax cover of In A Gadda Da Vida. It's all played straight, with no sense of irony. Apparently a bunch of studio musicians got together and made a bongo album for fun [citation needed, I guess?], and then the hip hop world got wind of it and mined it for samples. The music actually wasn't bad, and I'm almost mad about that, because it would have been easier to dunk on it. Instead, I'm just wondering why anybody would need to listen to it 48 years later. What a baffling album. Best track: Apache

Probably the best album I'll never listen to start to finish more than once. Best track: Miles Runs the Voodoo Down

An innovative work of art. Protest rap over funk, jazz, traditional boom-bap beats from one of the best in the game. Hell yes. Best track: King Kunta

I listened to a lot of crap when this came out, so I was afraid that a fresh listen would reveal it to be the same. It holds up. What a great sound they have. Best track: Howlin' For You

This band has entirely too many members. When you have one guy whose sole responsibility is samples and another whose sole responsibility is turntables, guess what they're going to do? They're going to insert sound effects and scratches as often as they can, regardless of whether or not it makes sense or sounds good. Best track: (sic)

Two songs of note and a lot of filler. A good debut. Best track: Let Love Rule

Man, he can tell a story. Best track: Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore

We Got the Beat is the least interesting song on this album. I didn't expect it to be so packed with legit tunes. Best track: Our Lips Are Sealed

An incomplete list of things that aged better than this album: pagers, Richard Nixon campaign buttons, Blockbuster, the crab meat you left out on the counter last night, the kid who played young Anakin. Best track: Under the Bridge

Some of the best albums on this list are genre benders. This one attempts to combine soul and rap, and it falls flat for me. It's not just that Cee-Lo really isn't a rapper (he really, really isn't); even the features don't work. It comes across as confused more than innovative. It's baffling that this made the list and the Gnarls Barkley debut didn't. Best track: The Art of Noise

I didn't hate this (which was a surprise), but every time I started getting into it, the Talking Heads guy would do some Talking Heads weird shit. The best line comes from a song called The Big Country: "I wouldn't live there if you paid me." Abilene people know. Best track: Take Me to the River

Surprised me in a good way. Very few swinging strikes, lots of doubles in the gap and homers. Best track: One Way or Another

I never would have given this a chance if it weren't for this project, so score a point for the list. Some really nice guitar work that really grew on me as I listened. Best track: Kettodee

This album is like a pure distillation of the early 90s. Best track: Check Yo Self

A lot of stream-of-consciousness nonsense peppered with some cool tunes. Best track: Friend Zone

There's nothing wrong with this, but not much that's remarkable or interesting, either. We really didn't need this many Eno albums on the list. Best track: Spider and I

You're taking me apart, Kelela! I got tired of this after 15 minutes. They really jumped the gun on adding a 2017 album to the list. Nobody will be thinking about this one in 10 years. Best track: Better

Indian Sunset is the only blemish on an otherwise perfect album, but boy, what a blemish it is. Best track: Levon

It's a Scottish dude doing chill reggae. Not as bad as that description, but not good, either. Best track: Even After All

She's got an incredible voice, and some of the songs are really great, but it all blends together after awhile. Best track: How High the Moon

I kinda hated this, but there were a couple of songs that saved it from being truly awful. Best track: That's Entertainment

It's hard to pick against James Brown, but the mix was awful and so was all the screaming. This was not the experience I was hoping it would be. Best track: the medley

Which is better: KISS, or the ninth grade garage band in your neighborhood? I'm not sure I know the right answer. Best track: Shout It Out Loud